[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by payeng

What would be the Chetak's differentiating USP, one that is valuable to the Customer. One that makes the customer look at the Chetak favourably when Activa is there as an option.

Here's an idea I'm sure Bajaj would use if they bring back the Chetak.
Milk the old ad theme song for Hamara Bajaj, either by keeping the music as is or a modern take on the old song that indicates that its the new Chetak with a hint of nostalgia.

And nostalgia is exactly why Hero Splendor sales have been more or less rock steady for decades despite them moving away from Honda few years ago.
You milk the old memories and people will come flocking to it.

[arnabchak]

During our childhood days, we have grown up listening to the iconic jingle of Hamara Bajaj. Chetak was a steed that all craved. People paid advances and waited for almost a year to get their hands on one.
Yes, Chetak remained an Icon and probably the decision to discontinue their once bread and butter product line was a flawed strategy to start off with.
The Chetak of Yore:


Fast forward to 2016. Chetak is long gone. The Company itself has shifted focus to Motorcycles and the two wheeler market has come a full circle from scooters to motorcycles and now back to scooters(gearless though).
Its an open market now and Chetak, other than the immense brand value it enjoys, may not really cut much ice with GenX.
Our father's generation may look fondly at the Chetak brand name and only lament later " Beta, Hamara Chetak is se to kai guna achcha tha, crib about the longevity, the build and the maintenance.

Yes, its a good thing to play with sentiments. But, business decision, may not be a great move for Bajaj.

[VinodDevil81]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

I daily ride is a Discover 100T which I like to consider a limited edition, whereas it was phased out as it was considered too premium for a 100cc motorcycle to have 5 gears and 10.4 HP.
.

In Bajaj's case, most products come and go in a jiffy.

Except the pulsar series, only few other bike models have lasted a 5 year product life-cycle.
Avenger lasted because it is largely based on the pulsar platform itself.

They have withdrawn so many models within 1 or 2 years of launching.
Aspire, Wind125, XCD135, the countless A to Z alphabetic iterations of Discover..the list is endless.

There was a 150cc variant of discover which got launched, but I think by the time the first batch of vehicles reached the dealerships, Bajaj withdrew the model.

Apart from the general quality & fit and finish issue, I feel this uncertainty of product life cycle is also a major reason for the low resale value of most Bajaj vehicles.

Coming back to the topic, Bajaj Chetak should have a distinct USP to survive in the current market scenario.

I agree that if they position it in the premium category,some die-hard Chetak fans will buy it irrespective of the fit & finish and usual quality issues.
But that alone won't bring in the numbers that they target to achieve.

Considering Bajaj's lack of attention in the fit & finish department, and their lack of experience in manufacturing or selling premium & classic lifestyle products, such a premium product will die a much earlier death than the average Bajaj product life-span.

How about bringing in a performance scooter with the 150 cc Pulsar's Dtsi engine?
A 150 cc, 15 Bhp gearless Chetak! Wouldn't that create a new segment of its own?

It will definitely attract the youngsters.
Just like how Bajaj made 150 cc a mass-segment for bikes with the pulsar, I believe they can do the same with an affordable performance scooter range.

This is what they should do right now, and once the sales pick up and they are able to re-establish their dominance in scooter sales, they can comfortably bring in a lifestyle premium scooter later.
Then such a product from Bajaj will get better acceptance than what it may get right now.

[shobhit.shri]

Bajaj Chetak was the "Toyota Corolla" of old India; a no-nonsense, reliable, boring scooter that you drive for 15 years. The current Bajaj Auto is more of a "Ford", a bit of everything but still an enthusiast at heart.

For me, a lot would depend on how Rahul Bajaj and his design team matches the gulf between these two worlds. Just don't screw "Chetak" for your experimental purposes.

I own some Bajaj stocks and have fond memories of my father's Chetak, please don't fumble on this Mr. Bajaj!

[Crazy_cars_guy]

So do we still tilt this scooter to start?

Now that will be truly nostalgic. ;-)

[Mohitkumaar]

Here is a wild idea, Rahul Baba - Do NOT change the looks/material of the scooter on the outside. Full Metal body, split seats legroom and space for spare wheel. You wanna go retro, go whole hog on the looks. The innards though, re do it completely. Give me new 4 stroke engine with MPFI etc and CVT.

I hate how post activa scooters have no spare wheel unless you go for ugly clamps. Wish someone brings back the LML NV like spare wheel mounted on engine side. Even the new CVT LML NV has ditched spare wheel.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by Mohitkumaar

Here is a wild idea, Rahul Baba - Do NOT change the looks/material of the scooter on the outside. Full Metal body, split seats legroom and space for spare wheel. You wanna go retro, go whole hog on the looks. The innards though, re do it completely. Give me new 4 stroke engine with MPFI etc and CVT.

I hate how post activa scooters have no spare wheel unless you go for ugly clamps. Wish someone brings back the LML NV like spare wheel mounted on engine side. Even the new CVT LML NV has ditched spare wheel.

Original styling with latest tech- that's a product idea worth exploring.

But I think that there would not be too many customers falling for that kind of nostalgia, every month.. i.e necessary numbers for profitable business


Also about the spare wheel, it's not really needed these days especially with Tubeless tyres.

[rahul4321]

Mr. Bajaj- if you are reading this here is what I think you should do- take a leaf out of Honda two wheelers book and another out of Car manufacturers book

Do to Honda what they did to you- They launched the geared Eterno against your geared scooters. Once they were sure you exited the scooter market altogether, they withdrew the Eterno effectively forcing everybody to migrate to Non geared scooters.

Launch the same vehicle in manual and automatic transmission option like car manufacturers do? Or two vehicles sharing the same name but a different suffix having different tranmissions

Say the orginal Bajaj Legend (white) in geared format and the Bajaj Legend NXT (blue) in automatic format?

[hangover]

Honda, Japan patented a 2 stroke fuel injected engine in august 2015. I mentioned it in one of my posts earlier.

That, IMHO is the future of automobile engines.

Imagine a fuel injected RD350. It would be fast as light. It would probably produce food when parked in sunlight.

Chetak is not a hip name. It has to be something snapchatty like say, vanishing point, demon, phantom fury and so on. Or Dinchak.

If chetak makes a comeback then I also want yezdi to return.

[para_7k]

Chetak or not, I want Bajaj to return to the Scooter market. These days 7 out of 10 vehicles in a signal is probably a scooter.

I believe they can give good VFM and practical scooters. The "Wave" near really made a mark.

TVS faced a disaster with the "Spectra" but they were quick to catch up with the Wego and now the Jupiter.

I am still waiting for a good "DTS-i" scooter from Bajaj with a solid build.

[sukiwa]

I feel it's already late for Bajaj to get back into scooter market. But, if they seriously do, what better name to restart than iconic Chetak. And for reintroducing Chetak, they need to have long-term plans for it & keep refining plans based on market feedback. Rechristened Chetak shouldn't get same treatment like some of Bajaj bikes which vanished in few years.

[Nav-i-gator]

Bajaj was still producing good geared scooters when they decided to pull the plug. We had a Bajaj super and a bajaj Bravo in our family. While super was old school 2 stroke, with split seats, bravo was 4 stroke with impressive acceleration and good looks (and bigger tyres too). Overtime, we sold both and bought an active which is still running around.

I too have very fond memories of bajaj scooters, I learned driving on them. Was driving it through my late teens and early 20s when bikes were starting to gain market share only. Never managed to convince my dad to buy an automobile which do not have a "stepney" and no place to carry stuff between your legs.

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by hangover

Honda, Japan patented a 2 stroke fuel injected engine in august 2015. I mentioned it in one of my posts earlier.

That, IMHO is the future of automobile engines.

Imagine a fuel injected RD350. It would be fast as light. It would probably produce food when parked in sunlight.

Honda has not provided any news on the 2T engine.

Here are some comments from other sites.

"First
, this isn’t a motocross engine. Did you notice the flat base that is cast into the cases. That is so this engine can be bolted to a plate, water pump or work bench. This is a light-duty industrial engine. Second, motocross engines don’t come with a stroke this long. Just the opposite. Third, take a close look at the crankshaft. The rod is offset to one side and the crank has links that pin it in place. This engine is not going to turn any rpm at all. Fourth, this engine’s fuel injection is far from the oft-dreamed-of Direct Injection. It’s as indirect as it can be. The injector is just above the crankcase (#71). The fuel is then pumped up via transfer ports to a push rod-activated poppet-valve that acts as the exhaust port. Honda hasn’t made a two-stroke motocross bike since 2007—and this engine is not going to change that."
http://motocrossactionmag.com/home-p...nded-truths-29

"Furthermore, that diagram would seem to show a long-stroke engine with a pushrod valve system and a thick mounting flange at the bottom. In addition, the patent wording states that "the liquid fuel may consist of diesel oil or any other fuel that is provided with a lubricating property." All of which points toward an industrial generator-type machine rather than a high-performance motorcycle engine."
http://www.southbayriders.com/forums/threads/147405/

IMO bajaj should keep Chetak as retro as possible.

It could be their only USP now.

Originally Posted by arnabchak

The Chetak of Yore: